Panel OKs Mission's master plan

ROB O'DELL - Staff Writer

OCEANSIDE -- The city Planning Commission approved a rezone of
the historic Mission San Luis Rey, moving the historic 205-year-old
mission a step closer to building a retirement center on a portion
of its site.

The Oceanside City Council has the final say over the project,
and is slated to consider the matter at its Sept 17 meeting. The
commission approved the project 6-0, with one commissioner
absent.

The rezone would create a new master plan for 55-acre site, and
it proposes a number of changes. The most notable are an expansion
of the cemetery, new living quarters for the friars, new commercial
development and the construction of a retirement or lodging
facility at the southwest corner of the site.

Mission officials said the rezone would help keep the mission
solvent by creating new revenue sources. If approved by City
Council, the property would be rezoned from public and open space
to a planned development.

Built in 1798, San Luis Rey is the largest of the 21 California
missions. However, the mission has received little public funding
over the years and has survived primarily on donations and
fund-raisers.

On Monday, planning commissioners raised several issues about
the project, but all were minor and every commissioner solidly
supported the plan.

Most of the concerns were in regard to specifics, including: How
much traffic the new development would create; how the mission
would be integrated into the city's water system; future emergency
access; and the new commercial development proposed on the
site.

Commissioner Nancy Chadwick wanted to know the cost and the
timeline for finishing the project, but her questions went
unanswered. Ed Gabarra, the Mission's administrator, said after the
meeting the cost would be roughly $50 million, and the entire
project could take more than 30 years.

In the end, commissioners were content with the fact that
specifics for each project would come as the project moves along.
The master plan simply covers general development for the 55-acre
site, and the mission needs to get the necessary permits for each
future phase of the development.

Mission representatives said the retirement center would be
developed first and could be completed in three years if
"everything went perfectly." Its cost was pegged at $30 million.
The four-phased expansion of the cemetery would add additional
plots and could take more than 30 years to complete.

Other proposed changes in the master plan include the additions
of Stations of the Cross at the northwest corner of the site, a new
or expanded retreat center, two visitor serving-commercial areas, a
new maintenance area, a garden, and an expanded parking lot.

Commission Chairman George Barrante said he liked the project
because it would give the mission additional money while not
compromising the beauty or history of the site.

"It allows (the mission) to be more independent and not struggle
as much," he said.